On this page:
9.1 Check Syntax Button
syncheck-drracket-button
syncheck:  button-callback
syncheck-bitmap
9.2 Syntax Properties that Check Syntax Looks For

9 Check Syntax

Check Syntax is a part of the DrRacket collection, but is implemented via the plugin API. See also drracket/check-syntax.

9.1 Check Syntax Button

 (require drracket/syncheck-drracket-button)
  package: drracket

value

syncheck-drracket-button : 
(list/c
 string?
 (is-a?/c bitmap%)
 (-> (is-a?/c
      top-level-window<%>)
     any))
This is meant to be used with the 'drracket:toolbar-buttons argument to the info proc returned from read-language.

syntax

syncheck:button-callback

This is defined with define-local-member-name and is bound to a method of no arguments of the DrRacket frame that runs Check Syntax.

value

syncheck-bitmap : (is-a?/c bitmap%)

The bitmap in the Check Syntax button on the DrRacket frame.

9.2 Syntax Properties that Check Syntax Looks For

Check Syntax collects the values of the syntax-propertys named 'disappeared-use, 'disappeared-binding, 'identifiers-as-disappeared-uses?, 'sub-range-binders, and 'mouse-over-tooltips and uses them to add additional arrows to the program text. These properties are intended for use when a macro discards or manufactures identifiers that, from the programmers perspective, should be binding each other.

For example, here is program with a macro that discards its arguments, but adds properties to the result syntax object so that the two occurrences of a are treated as a binding/bound pair by Check Syntax.

(define-syntax (m stx)
  (syntax-case stx ()
    [(_ id1 id2)
     (and (identifier? #'id1) (identifier? #'id2))
     (syntax-property
      (syntax-property
       #'1
       'disappeared-use (list (syntax-local-introduce #'id1)))
      'disappeared-binding (list (syntax-local-introduce #'id2)))]))
 
(m a a)

Check Syntax draws arrows only between identifiers that are free-identifier=?. They must be syntax-original? or have the syntax-property 'original-for-check-syntax set to #t. See also current-recorded-disappeared-uses.

Another approach for situations where identifiers are discarded by a macro is to introduce a let expression that doesn’t contribute to the result of the computation, but does signal to Check Syntax that there are some arrows to draw. For example, Check Syntax is unable to draw the arrows between the introductions and uses of a, b, and c for this code:
#lang racket
(require (for-syntax syntax/parse))
 
(define-syntax (depths stx)
  (syntax-parse stx
    [(_ id expr)
     (define table (make-hash))
     (let loop ([stx #'expr] [depth 0])
       (cond
         [(syntax->list stx)
          =>
          (λ (lst)
            (for ([ele (in-list lst)])
              (loop ele (+ depth 1))))]
         [(identifier? stx)
          (hash-set! table (syntax-e stx) depth)]))
     #`(define-syntax id #,table)]))
 
(define-syntax (depth-of stx)
  (syntax-parse stx
    [(_ id1 id2)
     (datum->syntax
      #'here
      (hash-ref (syntax-local-value #'id1)
                (syntax-e #'id2)))]))
 
(depths my-sexp ((a) b (((((((c)))))))))
 
(depth-of my-sexp a)
(depth-of my-sexp b)
(depth-of my-sexp c)

Extending these macro to cooperate with Check syntax requires more information to be collected on the definition side and then used at the use side:

#lang racket
(require (for-syntax syntax/parse))
 
(define-syntax (depths stx)
  (syntax-parse stx
    [(_ id expr)
     (define table (make-hash))
     (let loop ([stx #'expr] [depth 0])
       (cond
         [(syntax->list stx)
          =>
          (λ (lst)
            (for ([ele (in-list lst)])
              (loop ele (+ depth 1))))]
         [(identifier? stx)
          (hash-set! table (syntax-e stx)
                     (cons (vector (syntax-source stx)
                                   (syntax-line stx)
                                   (syntax-column stx)
                                   (syntax-position stx)
                                   (syntax-span stx))
                           depth))]))
     #`(define-syntax id #,table)]))
 
(define-syntax (depth-of stx)
  (syntax-parse stx
    [(_ id1 id2)
     (define pr
       (hash-ref (syntax-local-value #'id1)
                 (syntax-e #'id2)))
     (define fake-binder
       (datum->syntax #'id2 (syntax-e #'id2) (car pr) #'id2))
     #`(begin
         (void (let ([#,fake-binder 1]) id2))
         #,(cdr pr))]))
 
(depths my-sexp ((a) b (((((((c)))))))))
 
(depth-of my-sexp a)
(depth-of my-sexp b)
(depth-of my-sexp c)

For each syntax object that appears in the fully expanded program, DrRacket traverses it looking for identifiers and connecting them to likely binding occurrences. When it finds such identifiers it draws an arrow with a large question mark near the head of the arrow. But, if the syntax object has the property 'identifiers-as-disappeared-uses?, then the arrows are the normal arrow color.

The value of the 'sub-range-binders property is expected to be a tree of cons pairs (in any configuration) whose leaves are either ignored or are vectors of the shape
(vector/c syntax?
          exact-nonnegative-integer? exact-nonnegative-integer?
          (real-in 0 1) (real-in 0 1)
          syntax?
          exact-nonnegative-integer? exact-nonnegative-integer?
          (real-in 0 1) (real-in 0 1))
If the leaf is a vector, the first syntax object is expected to be an identifier whose bound occurrences should have arrows that point to the syntax object in the sixth position in the vector. The numbers indicate the starting point and the range inside the corresponding identifier to consider as the location of the end of the arrow. The property is looked for in expression positions and on binding identifiers. Here’s an example:

#lang racket/base
(require (for-syntax racket/base))
(define-syntax (define/hyphen stx)
  (syntax-case stx ()
    [(_ id1 id2 rhs-expr)
     (let ()
       (define first-part (symbol->string (syntax-e #'id1)))
       (define second-part (symbol->string (syntax-e #'id2)))
       (define first-len (string-length first-part))
       (define second-len (string-length second-part))
       (define hyphenated-id
         (datum->syntax
          #'id1
          (string->symbol (string-append first-part "-" second-part))))
       (syntax-property
        #`(define #,hyphenated-id rhs-expr)
        'sub-range-binders
        (list
         (vector (syntax-local-introduce hyphenated-id)
                 0 first-len 0.5 0.5
                 (syntax-local-introduce #'id1)
                 0 first-len 0.5 0.5)
         (vector (syntax-local-introduce hyphenated-id)
                 (+ first-len 1) second-len 0.5 0
                 (syntax-local-introduce #'id2)
                 0 second-len 0.5 1))))]))
 
(define/hyphen big generator
  11)
 
(+ big-generator big-generator)

After putting this code in the DrRacket window, mouse over the words “big” and “generator” to see arrows pointing to the individual pieces of the identifier big-generator. The four 0.5s in the first vector put the arrows on big in the center of the identifiers; the 0.5 0 and the 0.5 1 in the second vector put the arrows at the top and bottom center for generator.

Also, for backwards compatibility, if the vector has only six elements, those elements must be everything except the (real-in 0 1) elements listed above and, in that case, all four numbers are all taken to be 0.5.

The value of the 'mouse-over-tooltips property is expected to be to be a tree of cons pairs (in any configuration) whose leaves are either ignored or are vectors of the shape
(vector/c syntax?
          exact-nonnegative-integer?
          exact-nonnegative-integer?
          (or/c string? (-> string?)))
Each vector’s content indicates where to show a tooltip. The first three components are a syntax object whose syntax-source field indicates which file the tooltip goes in, the start and end position in the editor where mouseovers will show the tooltip, and the content of the tooltip. Note that editor positions count from zero, while syntax object positions count from one, so use sub1 to convert between them. If the tooltip content is a procedure, this procedure is called by Check Syntax to compute the string used for the tooltip, as Check Syntax traverses the syntax objects looking for properties.

For example, here’s a macro that shows the span of itself in a tooltip on mouseover:
#lang racket
(define-syntax (char-span stx)
  (syntax-case stx ()
    [(_ a)
     (syntax-property
      #'a
      'mouse-over-tooltips
      (vector
       stx
       (sub1 (syntax-position stx))
       (sub1 (+ (syntax-position stx)
             (syntax-span stx)))
       (format "this expression\nspans ~a chars"
               (syntax-span stx))))]))
 
(char-span (+ 1 2))

Changed in version 1.3 of package drracket: Looks for 'sub-range-binders on binding identifiers (not just in expression positions).